Truffles

All About Truffles: Truffle Cooking Tips

No matter which type of truffles you decide to purchase, you'll want to know how you can best take advantage of their flavor and which foods and wines will pair successfully with your truffles. Many types of truffles are available, but the winter black truffles, winter white truffles, summer truffles and Burgundy truffles we offer are among the freshest and finest in the world.

The most highly desired of the French truffles are the richly earthy Périgord truffles, but Italy's extremely scarce Alba truffle (also known as Piemonte truffles) is also in high demand. Summer truffles are less aromatic and more subtly flavored but are becoming increasingly popular among today's epicures. They, like the slightly more pungent Burgundy truffles, are less costly than winter truffles, and their simpler flavors are gaining favor with culinary experts as well as truffle enthusiasts. Each type of truffle has its own distinct characteristics and merits its own style of preparation. The following truffle cooking tips provide some basic guidelines for serving and enjoying truffle mushrooms.

Truffle Cooking Tips for Fresh Winter Black Truffles (Périgord)

A Périgord black truffle is best when cooked because its wonderful flavor is released and intensified by heat. Paper-thin slivers of raw black truffle can be inserted beneath the skin of uncooked fowl such as chicken, pheasant or duck before the bird is roasted. You can also wrap thin slices of black truffle around firm-bodied fish such as monkfish, or pair it with cheeses such as aged Gouda or a fine chèvre or kasseri. Consider pairing your Périgord black truffle with beef, pork, bacon, pancetta, or game such as boar, elk or venison to achieve a classic combination. You can also grate black truffle into sauces made with brandy or wine to lend them that rich truffle flavor. Black truffle slices layered into a foie gras terrine is, of course, the ultimate culinary pairing. Black truffles tend to pair well with a fine Bordeaux or aged Burgundy wine.

Truffle Cooking Tips for Fresh Winter White Truffles (Alba)

Some of the wonderfully intense white truffle aroma and flavor will be lost if you cook or heat them, but serving white truffles raw will preserve the hint of garlic and pepper that makes them so distinctive and highly appealing. Consider serving thin slivers or shavings of raw white truffles over risotto, buttered pasta, eggs, salads, and in sauces. Veal, rabbit, salami, prosciutto and hard Italian cheeses also make heavenly pairings with white truffles.

White truffles pair well with an aged red Barolo or Barbaresco wine, both of which originate in the same region of Italy as the Alba white truffle. Other experts say an aged red or white burgundy, pinot noir or champagne can be the perfect accompaniment.

Truffle Cooking Tips for Fresh Summer Black Truffles (French)

Fresh summer black truffles feature a mild but crisply nutty flavor. You can preserve their delicate taste by serving them either raw or just slightly warmed. Feel free to offer generous portions, as summer truffles are much less expensive than winter truffles. If you wish, you can enhance their exquisite flavor by adding truffle oil or truffle juice. Consider adding tissue-thin slices of summer black truffles to salads, where they will absorb some of the dressing.

Truffle Cooking TIps for Fresh Burgundy Truffles (French)

These delectable delights offer an intense, musky aroma but a delicate, distinctive flavor touched by a hint of hazelnut. Burgundy truffles offer a more robust flavor and aroma than summer truffles but are not as intense as winter black truffles like the Périgord truffle. Like summer truffles, Burgundy truffles should be served raw or only slightly warmed, sliced very thinly over salads or grated into sauces.

Truffles are truly sublime and deserve to be prepared in a carefully considered manner that ensures their delectable flavors and aromas are always shown off to the best possible advantage. Never overwhelm truffles by pairing them with foods with strong flavors or aromas. Instead, let your truffles take center stage by infusing their superb flavor and aroma into lighter-flavored foods. Fatty foods such as butter, cream, cheese and, of course, foie gras bring out the full flavor of any truffle. Finally, if your recipe calls for peeled truffle, save the peel and grate it into a sauce or use it to prepare another dish - there's no sense in wasting any of this divine ingredient.